Destination Scout

Where is the villa? I would want a band that was close by so that you don't have to pay a large transportation fee.

You shouldn't need a marriage certificate for a symbolic ceremony. That would be a personal request from either the officiant performing the ceremony or your coordinator. So if they ask for it, I would ask them why, and if you don't have one or don't want to provide it, I would stick to your guns.

How fun! I wish my husband could dance. You are so lucky. We had ours about an hour and a half after dinner and the first dance. It reenergized the party.

Quote: Originally Posted by brandynd hahaha....I'm sorry. I got quite a little giggle out of this comment. The idea of putting my mil on valium and watching her go just makes me smile a bit. Good, it was meant to make you smile. In all seriousness though, she stopped complaining as much when I gave her jobs to do. She really just wanted to be a part of the process. I don't know if that applies here, but it's a thought.

Quote: Originally Posted by s_katrese Now I want to know what day would you celebrate your anniversary on the legal date or the symbolic date? That's completely up to you. We are planning on celebrating the symbolic date.

Very cool!

What type of venue do you have? Are you renting a house or something private where you could have a backyard BBQ? With excursions, I scheduled out things we were doing and invited everyone to come with us. There's a ton of things you could do in Maui. Snorkeling, hike up to the live volcano, hiking.

I'm sorry you're going through this. My MIL was this way. Luckily my FIL had her on valuum the entire trip. She had a blast and was quite entertaining.

Hi Sabrina, You don't need any of the above for a symbolic ceremony. You do get to exchange vows. You can write your vows and design the ceremony according to your taste. I prefer the symbolic ceremony in Mexico because it is a lot easier and the legal ceremony is rather rigid. They have to use the legal words in spanish.

Quote: Originally Posted by josee I agree it is absolutely beautiful!! Congratulations!! Thank you! The all white wedding was an inspiration from another wedding our photographer used to have on his website. That wedding was one of things that sold us on Nathan (the photographer).

We've been published in WedVert, a magazine on Green Weddings! http://www.dreamtimeimages.com/blog/...ed-in-wedvert/ "Too beautiful to be true, Tulum, located on the eastern coast of the Yucatan peninsula, is one of Mexico’s most treasured national preserves and a nesting ground for turtles. It’s also the location and inspiration behind Malisa and Todd’s intimate seaside wedding. " Yippee!

You'll find that any description of the ceremony will be vague. Maybe your coordinator has a video of one, but probably not. The thing that really put me at ease was talking to the shaman, not the coordinator. Maybe you can arrange to either attend a ceremony on your trip or speak to the shaman. $600 sounds about right for the ceremony. It lasts about 45 minutes. Good luck!

We put in a bid on our house in Dec, were married in Feb, and the house closed in May. I had moved in with him a year before we were married and were able to put my income aside for our wedding fund. He's always been a big saver and we had enough left over for our down payment and the required fix up projects - but his old house hasn't sold yet and we are now paying two mortgages. We are ok, but certainly holding our breaths hoping that we don't have any huge surprise expenses.

Hello Andrew, We were just married in Tulum, Mexico. It's about two hours south of Cancun, so you get the warm water of the Carribean, but on a pristine beach since you are far away from the resorts. You can get legally married in Mexico, as Tammy posted, you just have to register your marriage certificate in your home state. IMO though, I didn't think it was worth it. The AZ laws are rather lax. We were able to have our friend be an officiant and we were all able to sign the legal document when we were home, making it legal in the states. I don't know what the laws in Denver are though. BTW - my photographer is in Denver and does amazing work, in case you are looking for someone. DREAMTIME IMAGES WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - Colorado, California and destination wedding photographers serving Denver, Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek, Estes Park, Boulder, Santa Barbara, Steamboat Springs, Colorado Springs, San Luis Obispo, Cambria, Phoenix, B

We brought ours, but reluctantly. I had the last trustworthy travelsmart person in my group bring them in and take them out in order to keep them out of the country as much as possible (we stayed for 2 weeks). They stayed in the safe the entire time except for our wedding day, when I was wearing them. I had a special "travel band" made so that I can always have a wedding band, regardless of where I am. If I had to do it again, I would probably leave it at home. I understand that if I make myself a target people will take advantage of it, and running around on the beach in a third world country with a 2 carat diamond on my hand is asking for trouble. If nothing else, it could fall off in the water.

Ours was pretty much the mayan ceremony. Do you know which parts you are wanting to incorporate? When I'm trying to break down the different pieces here is what I think of: Blowing of the conch to marke the start of the ceremony Guests stand in circle around you to create a "circle of love", creating an energy Each cardinal direction represents a different god (here's where I get fuzzy, my notes are at home) love, beauty, protection, purity, earth (ground), heaven (sky). Couple is presented to each direction for their blessing A direct connection to the earth - participants are barefoot, on the sand, candle and props are on the ground flower petals representing the gifts of the gods (a different color for each direction) - the couple is sprinkled with the flower petals candle - represents your commitment, it is lit at the beginning of the ceremony and burns throughout the entire ceremony. The ceremony is stopped so that the candle can be relit if it ever goes out. At the end of the ceremony, each guest is given an opportunity to offer the couple their good wishes or words of advice active participation - guests are given musical instruments and celebrate the blessings after each god blesses the couple

Yay! I'm so glad it's working for you.

How many people do you have coming? You have a little more leeway if you have a small party.

Welcome! Any idea where in the Riviera Maya?

These look great. We considered doing this, but didn't think our printer could handle the different paper sizes. You didn't have any issues with it? I'm so jealous!

We had an AHR, but it was not for us. It was for his parent's who had been dreaming of their son's wedding for 36 years. None of their friends agreed to come to our wedding, so we let them host the reception. It was a great party. Neither of us were really into it, but it did keep the peace.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the only place on the list that is large enough to accomodate more than 20 people is Mil Amores.....but the hotels are close enough together that you can always book rooms in the hotel next door.

Here is a link to places that are large enough to accomodate large groups. In Tulum, anything over 20 is considered large. www.destinationscout.com/scout I'm working on my website which will eventually list all contact information. In the mean time I can either make appointments for you or send you contact information for any of the places. All of the places are open for business, so there will certainly be someone onsite that can show you around. They just may not be in a position to talk prices with you. My golden rule of negotiation is to go in with your budget instead of asking them what they charge. Good luck!

I think TammyHost is the one that specializes in the Riviera Maya.